Fewer students choosing local universities

Increased fees fail to deter young people from traveling further afield

Written by Natricia Duncan
29/12/2013 10:00 AM

Image Text:

UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE: Two students in Oxford (PA)

MORE UNIVERSITY students opting to fly the nest are choosing to attend institutions outside of their local areas, suggests a research involving sixth form students.

The study, based on 17,000 prospective students across the UK, shows that fewer want to attend university near home than in 2011 or 2004.

Across Britain, the figure has fallen from 15 per cent in 2004 to 7 per cent in 2013.

The figures, from careers guidance company Cambridge Occupational Analysts contradicts expectations that higher fees would mean more students studying locally to save on rent - though the highest proportion wanting to study near home is in Scotland, where students do not pay tuition fees.

Within England, the introduction of £9,000 tuition fees last year does not seem to have pushed more young people into preferring to study locally, with the proportion wanting to stay at home falling from 8 per cent in 2011 to 6 per cent in 2013.

Joyce Lane, the career group's joint managing director, said: "Going to university is now very expensive, and looking for the right course and university can be very time-consuming.

"Dropping out is costly too in terms of time and money lost and the stress experienced. This means it is more important than ever for prospective students to look into the finer details of the courses suggested to them."

Posted on: 29/12/2013 10:00 AM

Subscribe to The Voice database!

We'd like to keep in touch with you regarding our daily newsletter, Voice competitions, promotions and marketing material and to further increase our reach with The Voice readers.

If interested, please click the below button to complete the subscription form.